<p>So...I recently sent in my SIR to UC Berkeley with a Chemical Biology major (College of Chemistry). I am primarily interested in a premedical path for my undergraduate years, as I desire to continue on to medical school.</p>
<p>I have read from numerous sources that this may be a risky decision. Would you agree, and do you have any advice for planning schedules, resources, etc?</p>
<p>(By the way, I do love chemistry. I am just somewhat anxious that I will be ill-prepared)</p>
<p>Thank you so much for you time.</p>
<p>hi, sorry i don’t actually know much about the pre med in berkeley, but why is it so risky? the competition? i’m also thinking about doing pre med and i was admitted to L&S</p>
<p>“Risky” isn’t the word for it. Cal is a terrible choice for anyone wishing to go medical school in the first place; there’s no associated hospital for resume boosting and practical experience, no premed support (and abysmal quality of academic advising in general) for schedule planning, and the majority of the premed requirements are significantly harder here than they would be at other schools.</p>
<p>College of Chemistry is one of the only ways to make this situation more dire. Your OChem coursework will be easier, but you’ll have to go through arguably the hardest undergraduate class at Cal (during your first semester, no less), Physical Chemistry (which is hard at ANY University), and probably several more very challenging courses.</p>
<p>Fortunately, you’re in a very strong program that offers you a number of other options. I encourage you to try as hard as you can maintain your GPA and other qualifications and prove me wrong - and you’ll certainly have a leg up recommendations-wise, given the private school-ish nature of the CoC - but your odds of becoming a doctor are, at present, very, very low.</p>